A number o f sol vent-free polymer electrolytes are known and there has been considerable interest in the potential use of such electrolytes in electrochemical devices such as solid-state batteries, fuel cells, sensors, supercapacitors and electrochromic devices. Polymer electrolytes in general have a number of desirable features, i.e., they are inherently safe in operation, they avoid the leakage and drying problems experienced with liquid compositions, and they are further relatively processable. An additional advantage of solid polymer electrolytes is their ability to deform and thus maintain interfacial contact with electrodes. Finally, polymer electrolytes may be cast in thin films to minimize resistance of the electrolyte and to reduce volume and weight.
Among the polymers which have been tested for use in solvent-free electrolyte systems are those based upon the linear-chain polyethers, poly(ethylene oxide) ("PEO") and poly(propylene oxide) ("PPO"), with associated alkali metal salts such as lithium salts. Representative PEO and PPO polymers are described by Le Nest et al., in Polymer Communications 28:302-305 (1987) and by Tsuchida et al., Macromolecules 88:96-100 (1988). However, such electrolytes display conductivity in the range of practical use (e.g., .sigma.=10.sup.-5 -10.sup.-3 S/cm) only at temperatures well above room temperature. Further, the reported linear-chain polyether electrolytes exhibit an ion transport number that is significantly lower than one, as both the anion and cation have ionic mobility and eventually account for the polymer electrolyte conductivity. Accordingly, a considerable amount of research has been focused on providing conductive solid polymer electrolytes capable of exhibiting conductivities in the range of their liquid electrolyte counterparts.
Attempts at improving the ionic conductivity of such polymer electrolytes have included the synthesis of new polymeric materials such as cation conductive phosphazene and siloxane polymers which exhibit better conductivity at room temperature than the linear-chain polyether electrolytes. In this regard, one class of polymers of interest are the polyphosphazene sulfonates as reported by Ganapathiappan et al. in both Macromolecules 21:2299-2301 (1988) and the Journal of the American Chem. Soc. 111:4091-4095 (1989); see also Chen et al., Chem. of Materials 1:483-484 (1984).
Other attempts at improving ionic conductivity have dealt with comb-like polymers with oligo-oxyethylene side chains anchored to a polyphospazene, polymethacrylate or polysiloxane backbone. See, e.g., Blonsky et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 106:6854-6855 (1984), Bannister et al., Polymer 25:1600-1602 (1984) and Spindler et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc. 110:3036-3043 (1988). Since the movement of ions through the polymer matrix proceeds essentially by a free volume mechanism, polymers with flexible side chains are generally preferred. Cation transport polymer electrolytes based on cation conductive siloxane comb polymers are reported by Zhou et al., Poly. Comm. 30:52-55 (1989) and by Rietman et al., J. of Poly. Sci: Part C: Polymer Letters 28:187-191 (1990). Solid polymer electrolytes having anionic conductivity have been reported as well, see, e.g., Miyanishi et al., Macromolecules 17:975-977 (1984).
In solid electrolytic systems, single-ion conducting polymers provide a distinct advantage over dual-ion conducting polymers (wherein both the anion and cation have mobility in the electrolyte) in that they can charge and discharge more completely (in part because DC polarization does not occur). More particularly, single-ion conducting polymer electrolytes have the capability of exclusively transporting cations, such as lithium, thereby minimizing polarization effects at the electrodes. Further, single-ion conducting electrolytes avoid the condition wherein both the dissociated cation and anion of the metal salt dissolve in the electrolyte and move toward the positive and negative electrodes at the same time, reducing the ion transportation value.
A number of single-ion conducting electrolytes have been reported. Poly(ethylene oxide)-polyelectrolyte blends--consisting of PEO mixed with an acrylate polymer having pendant sulfonate or perfluorocarboxylate groups--have been described which exhibit a lithium ion transference number close to unity. See, e.g., Bannister et al., Polymer 25:1291-1296 (1984). A single-ion conducting solid polymer electrolyte system comprising a solid solution having ionic species dissolved therein has also been described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,751 to Narang et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Further, a single-ion conducting polymer consisting of short PEO units functionalized by N-(fluoroalkylsulfonate)amido has been reported. See, e.g., Armand et al., (Seventh International Meeting on Lithium Batteries), May 15-20, 1994. However, each of the above-described single-ion conducting polymer systems generally exhibit low conductivity (e.g., .sigma.&lt;10.sup.-5 S/cm at 100.degree. C.) as well as low electrochemical stability.
Accordingly, while the various solid polymer electrolytes set forth in the above publications have shown promise, those materials have limitations which prevent them from practical use in, for example, high energy-rechargeable batteries and other applications in which high ionic conductivity is necessary and wherein relatively thin films of the polymer electrolyte must be prepared. As noted above, prior polymer electrolytes do not exhibit sufficient ionic conductivity, particularly at room temperature. Further, such prior polymer electrolytes have generally not exhibited desirable physical properties for incorporation in electrolytic devices where, frequently, thin films of these electrolytes are necessary. For example, physical limitations inherent in those polymers include polymer films which may be too sticky, the polymers may be too close to being liquid, the polymers may be too brittle, or the polymers may be too heat sensitive.
One approach to overcoming some of the above-noted problems (i.e., brittleness, low ionic conductivity, and the like) with prior polymer electrolytes has been the combination of those electrolytes with liquid electrolytes that serve as plasticizers. In this manner, a number of plasticizers have been found to be useful in enhancing the ionic conductivity of solid polymer electrolytes. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,751 to Narang et al., incorporated by reference above. Additionally, gel electrolytes containing poly(vinylidene fluoride) ("PVdF") have been developed, although such polymer electrolytes generally contain conventional lithium salts which are known to behave as dual-ion conductors, reducing the cation transport values obtainable from such systems. Further, gel electrolytes containing plasticizers have been reported (see, e.g., Tsuchida et al., Electrochemical Acta 28(5):591-595 (1983)); however, such electrolytes have been found to exhibit insufficiently high conductivity at room temperature. The use of PVdF copolymers to prepare gel electrolytes containing lithium salts has also been described by Gozdz et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,296,318; however, that method did not enable preparation of homogeneous, physically strong gel electrolyte films without phasic separation of the lithium salt.
Accordingly, although some prior plasticizers have been shown to improve conductivity in solid electrolyte polymers, those compositions still suffer from serious drawbacks. In particular, prior plasticizers have been found to be too volatile, causing them to separate from the polymer electrolyte composition over a period of time. Such separation results in a decrease in the conductivity, and further, the physical properties of the polymer will likewise change; for example, the polymer might become more brittle and/or might peel from a substrate on which it has been coated.
Other prior liquid electrolytes and plasticizers, such as propylene carbonate, are known to be reduced at the lithium anode or carbon anode of lithium batteries, therefore limiting battery performance. See, e.g., Arakawa et al., J. Electroanal. Chem. 219:273-280 (1987) and Shu et al., J. Electrochem. Soc. 140:922-927 (1993). The extent of propylene carbonate reduction is particularly severe on graphite electrodes. Although crown ethers have been used as additives in batteries to minimize such propylene carbonate reduction at the anode (see, e.g., Shu et al., J. Electrochem. Soc. 140:L101-L103 (1993) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,130,211 to Wilkinson et al.), high concentrations (0.3-0.5 M) of crown ether are needed to adequately minimize electrolyte reduction. In this regard, since crown ethers are highly toxic and generally quite expensive, they are not expected to be of practical use in batteries.
Accordingly, there remains a need to provide single-ion conductive solid polymer electrolytes capable of exhibiting conductivities in the range of their liquid electrolyte counterparts at room temperature (e.g., in the range of .sigma..gtoreq.10.sup.-3 S/cm at 20.degree. C.) as well as enhanced electrochemical stability. Additionally, there has remained a need to develop plasticizers for use with such polymer electrolytes that are capable of providing a plasticizing effect while also significantly enhancing the ionic conductivity of the solid polymer. Such plasticizers should not exhibit the drawbacks experienced by prior systems such as being readily volatilized away from the polymer and/or deleteriously altering the mechanical properties of the polymer.
The invention disclosed and claimed herein addresses the aforementioned deficiencies in the art by providing liquid electrolyte plasticizers which have a surprisingly enhanced ambient temperature conductivity. The novel plasticizers may be used as the electrolyte component of batteries or other electrochemical devices. In addition, when the liquid electrolyte plasticizers of the invention are formulated with solid polymer electrolytes a composition results having enhanced conductivity and which may be made into gels or films for use in batteries or other electrochemical devices.